#032. The Apprentice is Too Kind (2)

#032. The Apprentice is Too Kind (2)

The challenges currently facing the Sodom Guild are largely threefold.

One: Handling requests that Gomorrah accepted, but now require either paying penalties or directly fulfilling due to the departure of subordinate employees and adventurers.

My mother’s efforts, and the work of inspectors from all over, had quelled the immediate fires, and the penalties that had to be paid for unfulfilled requests were covered by the profits from the children’s welfare facility.

Two. Avoid any performance issues or safety incidents that might catch the eye of the Supervisor from the Adventurer’s Guild Alliance.

This crisis hasn’t yet begun, but it will arise soon enough when the Supervisor is dispatched.

Three. Complete the Abandoned Mine Dungeon raid.

This task is crucial due to the influence of the Third Floor Boss, Ronove. Though there’s some time to spare, once all immediate fires are extinguished, it’s a problem that must be tackled without delay.

“I’ve drawn as much of the map as I can remember.”

“Thank you. It will be a great help to Mother.”

“The thanks are all mine.”

Joseph, a former adventurer turned convict, worked as a miner to reduce his sentence.

He glared at the mine, a shiver running down his spine.

“Someone has to shut down that cursed dungeon. Too many miners and convicts have died because of the greed of those above. Even if they are prisoners, the reason they committed crimes was poverty and hunger. No one is unaware that the true culprit behind it all is the mine owner, buying up farmland and seizing mining rights.”

“The mine owner bought the land, turning farmers into convicts or forcing them to become miners?”

“It was a dangerous dungeon from the start, with monsters lurking within. Professional miners wouldn’t dare set foot in it, so, determined to exploit the development rights they had forcefully acquired, they dragged in farmers.”

“Then what about you, adventurer?”

“My mother was among the miners who died.”

“I see…”

“I want to further refine the mine’s map before Theresa returns. As long as that dungeon lives, I might as well be dead.”

Joseph began additional reconnaissance for the next raid, in his mother’s stead.

He felt the weight of so many people’s efforts.

As a Player.

And as a Mindweaver.

Too many were risking dangers that should be his to bear.

The stronger the mindweaving ability, the greater the misfortune it brings.

Yet, to progress in the game, to overcome crises that cannot be surpassed without twisting someone’s heart, mindweaving is necessary.

Still, his stubbornness to protect his family had cost him much time.

The danger arising from the Player’s absence and the fall of the Sodom Guild had been averted by his mother’s grand efforts, but he couldn’t leave all the remaining crises to her as well.

“I’ll be back.”

7:00 AM.

The probationary adventurer’s first real-world experience began.

Today, he would finally use his mindweaving abilities to begin addressing the tasks he had long postponed.

* * *

At the Adventurer’s Guild, in the early morning, all the worthwhile and regular quests were swiftly snapped up, leaving behind only those that required legwork, considerable effort, or were highly difficult.

Trainee adventurers were shocked to learn that other adventurers had swept away the quests even earlier than they had.

“The low-level boards are completely cleared out.”

“It’s just the underground waterways and the forest outside the village again?”

“There are some odd jobs within the village, though.”

“Fool. Does that even pay?”

Second-class adventurers.

Those who had only recently shed their first-class rank glared at the receptionist with discontent.

“It’s no use. Even if you bring them to me, I won’t accept them,”

The receptionist stated firmly, her face stern.

Shinon, a 2nd Rank Adventurer, bit back his displeasure.

“If we get permission from the Apprentice Receptionist on duty today, you won’t stop us, right?”

“The Guildmaster’s policy stands firm. We don’t interfere with what requests an Apprentice Receptionist assigns to their adventurers. At least, not until there are fatalities or a significant problem with performance.”

*You’re going to mess things up, or die.*

The Receptionist’s warning earned a snort from the 2nd Rank Adventurers.

It was all just dealing with giant rats in the underground sewers, or piddling monsters in the forest outside town, or fetching gathering materials that all looked frustratingly similar.

The 2nd Rank Adventurers felt confident.

Anything was better than running errands for the town, anyway.

“Let’s crush that Apprentice Receptionist’s spirit.”

“Yeah. What would a newbie know?”

“Aren’t *we* Apprentice Adventurers too, technically?”

“Idiot. We have actual combat experience.”

“Right, right?”

Looking at his dim-witted colleagues, Shinon could only sigh, but he still trusted in his swordsmanship.

If they combined their strengths, they could surely manage somehow.

*Ting-a-ling.*

A bell chimed from the Apprentice’s reception desk.

Shinon and the Apprentice Adventurers, with a sense of “here it comes,” surged toward the desk, full of bravado.

And then, they were thoroughly taken aback.

“I’m… a boy.”

“Why is a boy here?”

“He’s way better looking than the youngest son from the village clothing shop.”

“Ugh, I didn’t even brush my hair.”

“Do I smell bad?”

“Dummy. He’s behind the counter.”

Even amid a conversation that was shameful to be a part of, Shinon couldn’t bring himself to listen to his companions’ pathetic chatter.

He frequented the Guild more diligently than any of his peers, and he recognized the figure immediately.

“Teresa’s son!”

“I’m embarrassed that you recognized me.”

The story of Ian and Anna, who followed their parents around various hunting grounds from a young age, was one no young adventurer could be ignorant of.

“You’re a Guild employee now?”

“Still an Apprentice. If I can give you all suitable requests today and you achieve good results, I can become a full-fledged employee.”

“We’ll do our best!! We’re only Apprentices, but we can handle Adventurer work. We’ve heard the adults talking a lot!”

While some adventurers jumped in without a thought, Shinon’s colleagues were, at least, dotted with sense.

A first-year butcher’s assistant.

The youngest child of the general store owner.

The only daughter of the weapons shop owner.

They had all grown up, at least in some small way, experiencing adventurers or seeing related merchandise.

It was a rather luxurious collection, considering that most of the children who jumped into adventuring to make a living came from families who had died or gone bankrupt and descended into the slums.

It was also a shift that wouldn’t have been possible without Sodom Village’s political crisis and the villagers’ friendly view of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Right then, let’s start by having you all share some personal information – weapons, skills, anything special. Knowing how long you’ve trained with your weapons would be particularly helpful.”

“Why should we?”

“The more forthcoming you are with registration, the more assistance I can offer.”

“I’ll go first!”

“No, I’ll do it!”

The girls, eager to make a good impression on the boy, crowded around the counter, thrusting their faces forward.

Shino sighed, wondering if registration would ever finish at this rate.

But the commotion was short-lived. Ian’s unwavering gaze swept across them, silencing the apprentice adventurers as they glanced nervously at one another.

Was he angry?

They felt sorry for showing him such a mess, embarrassed, and yet also resentful because it wasn’t really their fault, and now they were even more self-conscious, wondering if they’d made a bad impression.

Seeing the flurry of shifting eyes, Ian said something they hadn’t expected.

“You might be the last generation of adventurers this Sodom Village ever sees.”

“Us…?”

“The village is in crisis, and adventurers from other villages look down on us, discriminate against us, because we aren’t affiliated with the Guild Union.”

Ian was airing the Guild’s dirty laundry instead of hiding its weaknesses.

The receptionist at the next window, who had been eavesdropping, was horrified and moved to intervene, but the Guild Master, who had appeared behind her, grasped her shoulder and shook his head.

“What I mean is, the people beside you right now might be the last ones you can ask for help, the last ones you can team up with on quests, during your lives as adventurers.”

Comrades who might be the last.

They couldn’t fully grasp the weight of those words, but even the young apprentice adventurers knew that this was no time for infighting.

“So even if you have techniques you’d rather keep secret, don’t hide them from your peers. Because even the smallest secret can cost you your only comrades.”

The apprentices, who had always heard the advice that adventurers should keep at least 30 percent of their abilities hidden, were plunged into thought.

Then, one by one, they began to reveal their weaknesses.

Shino realized it was because Ian had the courage to be honest about the Guild’s unfavorable position, instead of trying to conceal it.

‘By facing the fear of being abandoned by the adventurers first and daring to be honest, he allowed the others to be honest too.’

Ian might lack experience as an adventurer guild employee, but his sincerity and ability to draw out people’s true feelings were more than a match for any professional receptionist.

Seeing even the lower-skilled trainees find courage, Shino took a deep breath and did the same.

“Three-One-Ascension Style. I received formal swordsmanship training from a legitimate school. My master was a member of the Gomorrah Faction, but he died in the last war, so I’m participating to find my own way.”

Shino’s heart pounded.

What would his peers think?

Would they be disappointed that he’d hidden his background?

Would they rebuke him as untrustworthy?

Would they bear a grudge against the Gomorrah Faction and become hostile?

The hostile possibilities he had imagined were far from the reality.

“Pfft. Did you think we wouldn’t know?”

“Everyone in this village knows each other.”

“Idiot. We’d be more disappointed if you hadn’t said anything.”

He wasn’t rejected.

Daring to risk being disliked had actually kept him from being disliked.

Despite his past, inheriting his sword from a Gomorrah Faction adventurer, the fact that he, too, was now adrift and without a place to go bound them together.

“Do you still want to stop that child?”

“Not at all. A child’s skill, yet it rivals a veteran like myself.”

The senior receptionist watched the heartwarming scene with the Guild Master.

No one suspected that Ian was inwardly wracked with guilt for revealing the children’s hidden cards, a wicked ploy that ensured they couldn’t hoard them…

Except for one person, it was a heartwarming reception.